Just like in Catalonia, the Valencian education sector is also expecting a very turbulent May. In fact, this Wednesday, April 29, the union table comprising STEPV, CCOO, UGT, CSO, COS, CGT, and CNT, along with the grassroots platforms Docentes en Lluita and the Coordinadora d’Assemblees Docents, will hold an assembly to evaluate the result of the vote, which on Sunday set the start of an indefinite strike from May 11. In the consultation, promoted by the unions STEPV, UGT, CCOO, and CSIF - the four that have representation on the sectoral table plus ANPE - 9,817 teachers participated, of whom 61% voted in favor of the protest. Of these, 38% opted to start it on May 11 and 23.2% on the 25th of next month. Regarding its duration, 28% of those surveyed expressed willingness to support the strike "as long as it takes," while the vast majority indicated a period ranging from two days to three weeks. In summary, up to 60% believe that eight or more days would be beneficial.
Educational unions call for 17 days of strike in the next month and a half
Each center will be affected by five mobilizations in a calendar that will feature three system-wide strikes
Barcelona / ValenciaMost educational unions warned the Government that if negotiations on working conditions were not reopened, the academic year would not end normally. And so it will be. The Ustec union –the majority in the sector– announced this Tuesday its calendar of mobilizations, which includes up to 17 strikes in the next month and a half.
. And so it will be. The Ustec union – the majority one in the sector – has announced its mobilization calendar this Tuesday, which includes up to 17 strikes in the next month and a half.
In this way, the first mobilization is expected to be next week: on Thursday, May 7, actions are to be organized in all centers and on Friday, May 8, a strike in the entire 0-3 years stage, that is, in nurseries and kindergartens. The following week, up to 4 days of protests would accumulate: with a strike throughout Catalonia and a unitary demonstration on Tuesday, May 12, followed by a strike in Baix Llobregat and Penedès on Wednesday the 19th; another in Girona and Central Catalonia on Thursday the 20th, and the last stoppage of the week will be in the schools and institutes of Lleida and Alt Pirineu on Friday, May 15.
On Monday of the week of May 18, there will be a strike in the educational centers of the Consortium of Barcelona and all of Barcelonès; on Tuesday it will be the turn of Maresme and the two Vallesos; on Wednesday a stoppage will be called again in nursery schools and on Thursday in the schools and institutes of Tarragona and Terres de l'Ebre.
On Wednesday, May 27, a strike will be called again in all educational services in Catalonia, this time without a unified demonstration. This will be followed by a new strike in Maresme and the two Vallesos on Thursday, May 28, and another stoppage on Friday, May 29, in the centers of Baix Llobregat and Penedès.
The last week of the month and a half of mobilizations will begin on Monday, June 1, with a strike in Girona and Central Catalonia; on Tuesday in the Consortium of Education of Barcelona and Barcelonès; on Wednesday in Tarragona and Terres de l'Ebre, and on Thursday in Lleida and Alt Pirineu and Aran. The last strike will be on Friday, June 5, with a call for all of Catalonia and a new unified demonstration.
Against the signed agreement
As they have been repeating in recent months, in two major strikes in the Catalan education sector with nearly 40% participation, Ustec, Professors of Secondary Education, CGT and Intersindical insist that they do not agree with the agreement that the Government signed with CCOO and UGT. An agreement that, among other things, includes teachers receiving 3,000 euros more over four years, an economic compensation of 50 euros for going on school trips, or 300 million euros to improve inclusive education.
"The department remains entrenched and continues to delay any possibility of real negotiation. There is no acceptable proposal on the table, nor any will to correct the course. Therefore, we warn clearly: without a dignified proposal, this academic year will not end normally," the unions have stated in a press release.
In addition to reopening negotiations, Ustec, Professors of Secondary Education, CGT and Intersindical demand "to recover the purchasing power of teachers and guarantee dignified salaries; increase educational investment to reduce class sizes; eliminate bureaucratic overload with an effective plan negotiated with the majority, and review current curricula with the involvement of teachers". Furthermore, they assure that all of this is not just a labor conflict but that "it is also a conflict of educational model". "We are risking the quality of public education and the conditions to guarantee dignified attention to students," they insist.
Shortly after the unions presented the new cycle of mobilizations, the Government has reacted to the announcement. The Minister and spokesperson Sílvia Paneque did so at a press conference where she once again defended the agreement reached with UGT and CCOO. The Minister assured that "the Government respects the right to strike", but insisted that the agreement is good and reiterated that they "keep the door open" for the rest of the union forces to join it and to implement it.
Paneque boasted about the agreement, stating that "there has not been such a great effort by a Government in terms of improving working conditions and improving facilities" and defended that "it is the most important thing that has been offered to the educational community".